Celebrating Ramadan, Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha on the same day and together
After several cases of disagreements in the celebration of religious holidays, there has been a need to come together and find a common solution and methodology that safeguards both theological principles from the Quran and Sunnah, and practical decisions.
IRN’s goal and effort with this project was to find a solution on how Muslims in Norway can celebrate Ramadan, Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha on the same day even with different beliefs, understanding and viewpoints. Allah says in the Quran:
«Hold fast, all of you, to the bond of Allah, and do not become divided» (Quran 3:103)
Results of the project
After thorough work by IRN and the Muslim Dialogue Network, in a broadly composed committee «A Common Eid in Norway», Muslim religious communities in Norway across different schools of law have entered into an agreement on a common hijri calendar in Norway. This means that Norwegian Muslims will in the future start Ramadan at the same time and celebrate Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha together, according to an announcement from the committee «A Common Eid in Norway».
The work on a joint Eid in Norway started already in 2019 and has been going on for almost 1 year. Over 80 different mosques have signed the agreement and we believe it is a milestone for Norwegian Muslims that such an agreement has been entered into in Norway. We make du’a that this agreement contributes to more unity and love among Norwegian Muslims.
A broad team of scholars and imams has, after thorough assessments, established a common Hijri calendar for Norway. This agreement is based on a methodology that combines astronomical calculations and hilal visibility according to internationally recognized principles. The method is based on Ithad-ul-Matale (common horizon) and takes into account visibility maps and the Diyanet method, which has been established as a scientifically and theologically sound approach to the Hijri calendar. (reference Hijri calendar agreement, points 5.1 and 5.2). The team is trying its best to build unity in the Muslim community in Norway, and wants to emphasize the importance of a common framework.
See prepared Sharia assessment and summary of this:
Sharia-Text-Arabic
Hijri calendar agreement
1. The Quran clearly confirms the existence of the orbits of the sun and the moon, and
refers to their movement in space at their own speed. With today’s science and technology, it is possible to calculate the times of the rotation of the planets in relation to each other. The time of the lunar conjunction time, i.e. new moon, «new moon» in English and «Mahaq» in Arabic, can be calculated exactly. It is the time when the sun-moon-earth are on a straight imaginary line and often observed as the phenomenon of solar eclipse. At that time there is no light reflection from the moon to the earth, therefore it is impossible to observe the hilal at new moon time. Historically, the youngest moon is observed about 14 hours after conjunction time, i.e. a minimum angle of 7 degrees, since the moon moves away from the sun by 1 degree in 2 hours. In northern positions on the globe, including Norway, it is not possible to observe the moon locally until 24 to 40 hours after conjunction time.
2) According to the Sunnah of the Prophet (peace be upon him), Ramadan should begin by sighting the moon and end by sighting the moon. If it is impossible to sight the crescent on the 29th, then 30 days should be completed. Therefore, it is very important to take into account the visibility of the moon when determining the start of the month.
See prepared Sharia assessment and summary of this.
3) According to Fiqh , there are two correct ways of starting an Islamic month: Ithad-ul-Matale (common horizon) and Ikhtilaf-ul-Matale (different horizons). Since the location and weather conditions in Norway make it difficult to observe the moon locally, local observation can give us 1-2 days difference with the rest of the world. Therefore, we agree to use Ithad-ul-Matale, i.e. we use the whole world as a horizon.
4) We agree on the following four main principles:
- The day in the Hijri calendar starts from maghrib upon possible hilal sighting.
- The new moon cannot be observed immediately before or at the time of conjunction. The new moon can only be observed at least 14 hours after the time of conjunction.
- Hilal can only be observed when the sun sets below the horizon before the moon, and the moon remains high above the horizon for a while so that it can be observed. The angle of the moon should be at least 8 degrees from the sun and be at least 5 degrees above the horizon, also called the Diyanet method.
- Hilal observed in the east, is observed more clearly westward.
5) The method is:
5.1) In Norway, Ithad-ul-Matale is followed where the whole world is considered a horizon. We use the Shaukat criterion and «visibility maps» from «https://moonsighting.com/visibility.html» to calculate the visibility parabola for the moon. If it is possible with the visibility of the moon according to the parabola and there is a yellow line present (Diyanet method) within the international date line (see picture), the next day is the first of a month. (If the yellow line near 180 degrees does not hit the mainland, the next day applies). See 10-year calendar for dates.
5.2) The method is implemented and enforced by the team «A common Eid in Norway». This team is selected and works according to defined guidelines.
The working group «A Common Eid in Norway» is responsible for managing this method in the future, according to defined guidelines.
The team will, among other things:
- Acquire basic knowledge and information about the Hijri calendar.
- Advertise the start of the month and Islamic holidays in Norway.
- Create a Hijri calendar so that mosques have a common calendar in Norway.
- Send information about their decisions to signatory mosques.
- Follow the developments around the Hijri calendar issue in the world.
- Call a meeting with mosques if necessary.